A’s players react to San Jose lawsuit

The hot topic in Oakland’s clubhouse today, of course, was the anti-trust lawsuit filed by the city of San Jose against MLB because MLB has failed to allow the A’s to move to San Jose.

Starter A.J. Griffin said he doesn’t know much about the territorial rights issues with the Giants, or the background of MLB’s anti-trust exemption. However, Griffin is fairly well versed in the history of the team’s search for a new stadium, and he would have liked to see the A’s get the rights to that historic downtown Oakland area that went, instead, to low-income housing at the insistence of then-Oakland mayor Jerry Brown.

“We’d obviously like a new place,” said Griffin, who was vocal about the need for a new stadium after sewage flooded both Coliseum clubhouses on Sunday. “I feel like if an area wants to have a team, they should be able to have a team.”

Griffin pointed out that the San Jose area has a sizable population and plenty of wealth, plus the A’s would be moving farther away from the Giants if they went there. “When you can see the other stadium across the Bay from you, you’re pretty close,” Griffin said of AT&T Park. “As the bird flies, it’s what, about six miles?

“I like the Coliseum and the atmosphere there, but in terms of functionality, I’m sure everyone would agree that it’s not working very well.”

Griffin thought about the matter awhile, came back and added, “If they made the Coliseum nice and updated the amenities, I’d be fine with it.”

Many of the A’s players do not want to alienate their current fan base, whom they cherish. They universally would like a new facility, however, for obvious reasons.

“A new stadium would be sweet,” reliever Ryan Cook said, “but at what cost and what gain? I don’t know. I love the loyalty of our fans. That’s something not every team has – it’s a genuine love for the players. And I don’t know if moving jeopardizes that or not. I know some fans would make the drive to San Jose for games, which is great, but I know others couldn’t or wouldn’t, and that’s not great.”

“Nothing against the Coliseum, but you get tired of hearing complaints about it from opponents coming in,” outfielder Brandon Moss said. “It’s not the most aesthetic place to play. But the fans that come to the Coliseum are the best, they’re rowdy like football fans, and they’ve been supporting the team since 1968. It would be great for the Bay Area and San Jose and Major League Baseball to have a nice new stadium, it would make money and the place would be packed, but you also have to remember who got you there.”

Moss said he hopes that if and when a stadium is built – wherever it is built – that there is reasonable pricing so longtime fans can still attend as many games as they usually do.

“Don’t outprice your loyal fans,” he said. “You’ve got to keep those blue-collar fans there. They’ve been the ones supporting us all this time. They’ve been there every night in the ugliest stadium in baseball, and they should be there even if we have the nicest stadium in baseball. But I do think a new stadium would be good for the team and for the area. ”

Like most A’s players, Moss does not believe the issue will be resolved soon enough for him to play in a new stadium. “I don’t think most of us will be around,” he said with a laugh. “Obviously, it will take a few years.”

“I’ve been hearing about this now for seven years,” third baseman Josh Donaldson said with a shrug. “I’ll say something when something actually happens.”

Several of the A’s younger pitchers were trying to figure out if any of them might still be around by the time the A’s get a new stadium.

“It is a subpar place to play, but it’s home and it will be home for a while,” Cook said. “So it’s not something we’re worried about.”

“I’m just looking forward to someone making a decision, but it doesn’t affect our play one way or another,” A’s reliever and player rep Jerry Blevins said. “It does affect the organization as a whole, and for the good of the organization, it would be nice to know what’s happening.”

There were some chuckles that the lawsuit followed so quickly after the sewage incident. “I’m sure that gained some exposure for this issue,” shortstop Jed Lowrie said. “And for good reason. It seems like when a story has some momentum, it’s the right time to broach the topic of a lawsuit.

“Obviously, the city of San Jose feels they have a strong enough case to go all out. If they’re making that strong a push, they must feel good about it. It seems like this has been an issue for a while, with the Coliseum, and something else can only be an upgrade.”